‘Agent 47′ Casts Thomas Kretschmann as Second Villain

Hollywood just keeps chipping away at the repertoire of popular video games, hoping that a successful rendering will pull game adaptations up to the same level as thriving comic book movies. We’ve got some promising permutations to look forward to, with Assassin’s Creed starring Michael Fassbender and the elusive Splinter Cell starring Tom Hardy. But so far has not been so good, with films like the Resident Evil franchise and Prince ofPersia: The Sands of Time leaving much to be desired.

Now it seems Agent 47 is doubling up on the bad guys with German actor (and Resident Evil: Apocalypse alum) Thomas Kretschmann joining the cast.

According to THR, Kretchmann will portray a second villain named Le Clerq, chairman of an organization called Syndicate International. Kretschmann’s name should sound familiar to Screen Rant readers – it was recently announced that he’ll be playing Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in Marvel’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Quinto’s bad guy cred was earned right off the bat when he burst onto the scene as the fantastically creepy Sylar in NBC’s Heroes. Kretschmann no doubt has the ability to embody a badass villain as well, if his Avengers casting is any evidence.

Thomas Kretschmann in Peter Jackson’s ‘King Kong’

If anything, this role in Agent 47 might also be a way for Kretchmann to spread his acting net a little wider. The poor guy seems destined to forever play a Nazi, having appeared as one in Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie and in 2007’s Eichmann as the titular character of Adolph Eichmann, the architect of Hitler’s final solution. He also played Eva Braun’s brother, notorious Nazi Hermann Fegelein, in one of the most famous Nazi movies of all time – Downfall. And then, of course, he can now be seen on the big screen (yes, also as a Nazi) in the Russian import Stalingrad, the country’s highest grossing film ever and its first in IMAX 3D.

The writing team, made up of Skip Woods (who wrote the aforementioned Hitman as well as last year’s much panned A Good Day to Die Hard), Kyle Ward (Machete Kills) and Mike Finch (Predators), doesn’t exactly fill us with confidence that Agent 47 will be the project to start the video game movie renaissance. But you never know – after all, with a cast as good as Agent 47‘s, maybe director Aleksander Bach has something truly special in store.

What do you think of Kretchmann appearing in Agent 47? Let us know in the comments below.